One of the Fey
by The-7th-Star
Summary: There are many aspects to a guild. But the greatest one is family. (Fairy Tail Week)
1. Ladies

Day one: Ladies

* * *

><p>As Lucy sat in fairy hill's basementlaundry room, knee deep in sweaters, she bemoaned the loss of her precious friend once more. It had been a brave and valiant death, fighting for its life against incessant flames, or something of the sort. Her washing machine had gotten her through the highs and lows of missions, food fights, and good old dirt. But it could not survive Natsu. She was sad to see it go.

Of course, the fact that Erza and Cana were whistling over her delicates might have had something to do with it. The red, lacy ones warranted a particularly piercing catcall.

"If you're going to help," Lucy called, covering her flushed cheeks with her hands, "please actually do something." Cana simply laughed, though Erza pretended to work until Lucy turned away. It was nothing particularly new, Erza and Happy and Natsu and Gray went through her hamper regularly. But the astronomical amount of people going through her laundry brought the embarrassment up to a whole new level.

Juvia waved a blue shirt in the air. Always polite and helpful, she had folded it first. "Juvia would like to know where Lucy bought this!" Lucy could barely hear her over the racket, and her answer was a shout.

"You can borrow it, if you'd like!" Juvia smiled happily, before going back to sorting whites from lights from brights. She set the blue shirt to the side and Lucy smiled. Juvia was always a pleasure. Un-distractible. Maybe Lucy should follow her lead and actually get some work done. It took maybe thirty seconds for her to get sidetracked again. And as enjoyable as this may be, in a terribly-embarrassing-no-privacy sort of way, Natsu was going to pay for this.

It had started she wore the same shirt for the third day in a row, and one she didn't particularly like at that. Levy had been the one to catch her. She had pushed Natsu out of the way and sat down next to Lucy who was laying her head on the bar. She placed a drink in front of the tall blond with a clunk. Lucy groaned in greeting and acknowledgement.

"Lucy." Levy's voice had been calm as she had tried to make eye contact. It had been rather difficult, what with Lucy hiding her face. "You wore that yesterday."

"Mhm."

"And the day before," Levy had added. It was a sure sign that something was wrong. That and the way Lucy had been draped over the bar.

Merely hours later, Lucy was anything but draped now, trying to grab a particularly embarrassing gift from Natsu out of Levy's hands. Where he got the horrid shorts, she'd never know. But she had been desperate two nights ago, when a cooking accident, once again courtesy of Natsu, had put her favorite PJs out of commission. She had been stuck with that or nothing until she had enough money for a new washer. And Natsu slept in her bed more often than not now. Nothing wasn't really an option.

Even the outfit Lucy had been wearing that day hadn't been up to her usual standards. The blacks didn't match. It was a sin above all others. When Levy had pointed this out, gently of course, she didn't want to shock her, Lucy had let out an anguished cry.

She had looked up from her depressed ball, teary eyed. "My washing machine." Levy had nodded sympathetically before she had realized what had been said. Cana had already inched over to listen.

"What?"

"My washing machine," Lucy had wailed, running her hands through her hair. It only increasing her disheveled appearance, and her pigtails had started to fall. "Natsu broke it!"

"Of course he did." Levy and Cana had sighed in disappointment, bemoaning the lack of anything _truly_ exciting going on in their guild full of all-powerful wizards. A chair flew across the room, but nobody looked up. "That's it? No broken hearts or anything?"

"I haven't done any laundry for two weeks," Lucy had moaned through her fingers. They crept up to massage her temples. "Two weeks, Levy! I have no clothing!"

Which was how Lucy had been dragged into the situation at present, struggling to reacquire the mangled attempt at a scarf that Levy was waving around. It had been a jobless week, and Natsu had been bored.

Lucy was the recipient of most of his haphazard gifts nowadays. Though it didn't excuse him from what he broke.

Sure, she'd have clothing for the next week or so, or until she could pull together enough money for a new washer. The Fairy Tail girls were always willing to help each other, be it exciting or less than that. But not without a price.

"Hey, Lucy." She looked up to where Lisanna was holding up a familiar pair of pants. The grin on her face was positively impish as she made herself comfortable to observe the catastrophic affects of what she was about to say. "Aren't these Natsu's?"

Lucy turned a brilliant scarlet, and the squeals and whistles that erupted around the room would leave her ears ringing for hours. As she honestly denied any knowledge of how they had managed to breach her hamper, Lucy was positive of one thing.

Natsu was going to pay.


	2. Lads

Day 2: Lads

* * *

><p>The first thing they did was choose a location.<p>

Of course, it wasn't much of a decision. The options were rather limited. There was no boy's dorm in Fairy Tail, and the guild was much to public. Any of the girls could walk in at any time. Natsu's house was a literal shack. The others' houses weren't much better. Which left only one option.

Lucy's apartment.

It had been Natsu's suggestion. And after a bit of debate, in which Lucy was thoroughly ignored, it had been decided. Tomorrow night, at Lucy's apartment, which was the only place to hang out. All were invited as long as they were male. Plus Lucy.

This last detail was non-debatable. Lucy had informed them, very dangerously, that if she left them in her apartment by themselves it would be burnt down and frozen over several times over before they left. This was certainly not untrue, so an exception was made.

Still, as the guys puled into the apartment, armed with popcorn and movies – no porn – and an astronomical amount of games, the reactions were mixed at best. Laxus scoffed at the carpeting but gave her record player begrudging approval. Gray and Natsu had been here too many times to count. Each took their usual posts, refrigerator and desk respectively, jaded to the absolute girlishness of the place they had crashed. Natsu hadn't even bothered bringing a sleeping bag.

Gajeel had walked in, looked at the carpeting, and made a face. Pained. Tortured.

"It's so…" he swallowed at the edge of the carpet, afraid to lay foot on it. And Lucy hadn't even vacuumed. "Pink."

"Take it or leave it," Lucy said, rummaging through the pile of action movies that had been amassed on the practically rosy floor. She looked up with a face of stone. "It wasn't _my_ idea to have you invading my apartment."

"Nothing wrong with pink, Iron-Breath!" Natsu shouted from the desk.

"There is when it's on your head, Flame-Brain!" Gajeel shouted back, disregarding the matter at hand in favor of insults. He made his way to Lucy's couch and claimed it for the night. Pantherlily walked through the doorway after him. He looked around appraisingly.

"This is a very nice apartment, Lucy." He nodded his approval, before heading over to where Happy had made himself comfortable in Lucy's closet. It wasn't even worth the hassle to try and get the cat out.

A chair broke, and a crash signaled Elfman falling to the floor in her kitchen where he and Bixlow had been snacking on the cookies Lucy had left out. The first damage to her apartment for the night, and there were sure to be more if the way Gajeel was fiddling with her TV was any sign. Lucy sat down next to Natsu, removing her book from his fingers and watching the chaos arise with little control.

"Just because you crash my apartment daily doesn't mean you own the place."

Natsu draped his arm over her shoulders, leaning back. "Aww, c'mon, Luce. It's just a sleepover."

More like a party. Surprisingly, there was significantly less alcohol than the last girls' night. But, then again, Cana wasn't here. And _nobody_ drank as much as Cana.

It was still a party none the less. Laxus had cranked up Lucy's record player to top volume and had already gone through three of her classic rock albums, and the amount of junk food the guys had managed to get together was absolutely insane. Freed was trying to braid Gajeel's hair, strangely reminiscent of Lucy's last sleep over. She sighed, hiding her face in Natsu's shoulder. Her apartment was overrun by guys, having a guys' night, and she was stuck in the middle of it.

Then Gray popped in the first action flick and the junk food managed to double. Somebody had ordered pizza. Probably Loke. The microwave was overheating from the popcorn popping. And Lucy was squashed between Gray on her right and Gajeel on her left, sitting on Natsu's lap as everyone congregated to the living room. The room was silent but for the crunching of snack food and the whispered comments on the movie.

"Ooh." Gajeel grinned even as he said it, watching the protagonist get slugged in the face. The bright eyed hero took no notice, swinging at the villain enthusiastically. "That's gotta sting."

"Weak," Natsu snorted as the villain got his ass handed to him. Gray reluctantly agreed, pointing out his less than satisfactory fighting technique. Elfman noted his lack of manliness. Lucy criticized the special affects with practiced ease, her guests nodding with some respect.

"The music theme is decent," Laxus grumbled.

Everyone nodded.

Lucy elbowed those on either side of her. Gray pushed her right back. Gajeel moved about half an inch. From no family to about a dozen older brothers was quite an adjustment to Lucy. But she didn't mind.

Much.


	3. Magic

Day 3: Magic

* * *

><p>Lucy had been very small indeed, when her mother had pulled out her keys for the first time and let her chubby baby fingers trace the patterns etched into the metal. When she tried to remember, everything was fuzzy like with most things that had happened when Layla was healthy. Lucy had been so young when she had fallen ill.<p>

But it was still there in bits and pieces. The metal uncharacteristically warm as she prodded the designs, her mother whispering that she was about to have a new friend. Lucy barely knew what the word meant, at that age. Just old enough to toddle around but tired easily, though she preferred to be carried when possible. They were by the lake, outside and surrounded in fresh air when Layla had kicked off her shoes and waded into the water, Lucy balanced on her hip, until she was knee deep. Her luxurious gown was hiked up unceremoniously.

She was beautiful.

"Open," she called, "gate of the water bearer. Aquarius!" Lucy vaguely remembers how she reached for the droplets of water and lights, how Aquarius had been careful to keep her entrance's usual waves to a minimum. Layla had readjusted Lucy in her arms, eyes glowing with pride, and Aquarius had bent over to look. Lucy had tugged on her long hair with her meaty, baby fingers. She thought Aquarius might have smiled.

"Do you want to hold her?" Layla asked, before practically shoving her child into Aquarius's strong arms. She had stiffened a bit, afraid to hold something so delicate, squirmy, and precious. She had been about to forced her back onto Layla when Lucy had looked up at her through her big, brown, baby eyes, and giggled.

The shell had cracked, and it had all gone downhill from there. Lucy needed an older sister, so an older sister she would have.

Natsu had been even younger when he had first been introduced to magic. As little recollection as Lucy had of the even that had turned her into a mage, Natsu had less. And it had never really been a choice in the first place. Igneel had simply found a squirmy, wormy pile of blankets and a mop of hair so pink it was ridiculous, and decided not to eat it.

It had been a surprise when he couldn't walk, and the milk was a pain to get, but Igneel was a stubborn dragon. He had made a decision and if he had to steal a few gallons now and then, he would manage. He named him Natsu, because it was spring outside and if it had been any later the kid would have died.

When the boy started speaking was when he realized what he had done.

"Dada," had been his first word. He had gurgled it one night when Igneel had tucked him in the crook of his wing and under his baby blanket, a scaly thing that would never wear. Before it had been almost a pet. Not quite, too intelligent and expressive, but not quite a _dragon._ But suddenly, little Natsu had depth.

And depth meant magic and he could teach this little, squirmy, wormy bundle of blankets and grins m_agic. _The idea had made Igneel laugh, big and hearty, and tiny Natsu had laughed as well at the sound of his father's mirth. He was really going to do it.

"I'm going to teach you magic," Igneel said very seriously.

"Dada."

Gray had always wanted to be a mage. But the day it really hit him was the summer day when he had caught a fever. Everything had been varying waves of hot and hotter, sticky and sweaty and couldn't breath when his father had crept in his room. His weight at the foot of the bed had been comforting and his hand cool as he had pushed Gray's sweaty bangs off of his face.

Gray had cracked his eyes opened and Silver had leaned forward and told him to go back to sleep. The young Gray had frowned.

"Too hot," he had managed to croak. His blankets were strewn on the floor and sweat covered every inch of him. Silver had squeezed his hand and propped him up against his chest. Gray had wheezed tiredly, but with his eyes closed he couldn't see the worry on his father's face.

"Wanna see something cool?" Silver had asked. Gray had managed a nod. Or maybe his dad hadn't been waiting. Either way, moments later, the room was covered in a thin layer of ice. Silver wrapped Gray in the discarded blanket before continuing. With a small clap there was suddenly a figure in the middle of the room.

"A fairy," Gray said with awe. Another clap and a centaur had joined it, and the two started dancing together while Gray watched in child like amazement. A knight joined them, and then a dragon.

The distraction was welcome, along with the chill that the ice provided his hot and tired self. That was when Gray realized what being a mage meant, that he could _help_ people.

"Cool," Silver had said, shifting Gray on his lap. "Right, buddy?"

Erza had learned of magic during Grandpa Bob's story times. In the dark world of the tower of heaven warmth was hard to come by. Story time was a rare and special treat.

Erza and Jellal would crawl up close. Milliana would lay her head on Erza's lap and Simon took a place on her other side with Wally and Sho leaning forward to listen. Grandpa Bob would look around and smile, as if what he was telling was a secret.

Maybe it was, but none of it bad.

And they would all huddle close, excited for this small bit of warmth and hope and _love._ That was what magic meant to them. All of it strange, something out of reach but somehow so real.

There was no love for an orphan girl or a child slave before this tortured time and out of the stories. Magic was how everything disappeared and she felt so safe even though she knew she wasn't. It was how they all huddled together in a cluster to travel somewhere else. Erza knew nothing of magic but fairy tales and whispers and the pure basic idea.

But, she thought, if she could do magic, she could make happiness. Because that was what Grandpa Bob did in the corner of the dark cell. And perhaps she could make love.

Because that was all magic really was.


	4. Guild

Day 4: Guild

* * *

><p>She was woken up by the light shining in her face. Which was strange. Not because she had left the curtains closed, she hadn't, but because she had set an alarm clock the night before. And because she wasn't being prodded awake by an impatient Natsu, eager to great the sun. And that the said impatient Natsu, eager to great the sun, was not even in her apartment. It happened occasionally, but she remembered him sneaking in sometime past midnight knocking something off her night table in the dark.<p>

Her alarm clock, she realized. She peeked over the edge of her bed to see it laying in pieces on her carpeting. Broken, but repairable if she played her cards right the next time she saw Gajeel. It was a shame, and on her birthday too.

For once, Lucy was unsure of what to do next.

She could go back to sleep, she supposed. Just roll over, pull the covers up a bit like she used to when Natsu wasn't a near permanent resident in her apartment. It had never been something she was able to do. Before Fairy Tail it had been lessons, in the beginning missions, and now it was Natsu, waking her up at the unholy hour of right before dawn. She tucked the covers a little tighter around her and sighed. Who was she kidding? Natsu had forever wrecked her sleep cycle. She was up, and so she would be until the sun set.

The only sensible thing to do was to get moving, so Lucy did so, leaving her blankets behind her in a pile in the center of her mattress. She washed her face, took a shower, got dressed in her favorite outfit. Pulled her hair up in pigtails. Made a few faces in the mirror, turned this way and that. She could kill more time, if she really wanted to, eat breakfast in the kitchen. Calmly for a change. Without the smell of burnt pancakes, because Natsu insisted on trying to flip at least one while she went to get the strawberries.

Or she could go to the guild.

It wasn't much of a choice. Lucy simply grabbed her keys, hooked them to her belt, and left.

As Lucy walked, she remembered a time without a guild. When she was little Fairy Tail had been nothing but a magical symbol. It had been a goal to cling to during lonely nights when she missed her mother. It had been a shield to hold up against her father's scathing remarks and lack of care. The word "Guild" was a place for business, where her parents had met, where she would one day get work.

When she had finally run, Fairy Tail was a fancy title spread across a magazine. Something fantastical as its name. It was trouble and excitement and women with power and everything Lucy had never had. It was independence and a story and something that would make her father's blood boil.

How her thoughts had changed.

As Lucy neared the guild she frowned. It was unusually quiet. This tended to happen when her team was absent and the louder residents were off to work. But nobody had been at her apartment, which was, honestly, the only place they ever went. Except for work, but Natsu hadn't gone on a job without letting her know at the very least since… ever, really. Even leaving without her was rare.

The wooden doors creaked as Lucy pushed them opened, surprised to see the lights out. The guild was never closed. So what-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

She should have been expecting it, really, but Lucy jumped a mile anyhow. Natsu was at her side in a moment holding a wrapped box, and Levy on the other with a wicked grin. Cana sat on the table, streamers twined through her hair. The whole place was covered in streamers, and balloons. So many Lucy could barely see the ceiling. Someone had obviously charmed the doorway, because confetti rained down out of nowhere onto Lucy's head.

There was an entire table full of presents. And a separate one full of cake. It was go big or go home in Fairy Tail, and they needed no excuse to party. When there was a reason it could go on for days.

"Happy birthday, Lucy!" Natsu said with a grin. He bent down, and, suddenly, hoisted her on his shoulders like she was a little kid. Everyone cheered as he ran around the room with her like that, screaming and holding on for dear life. People pulled sparklers and threw confetti at her, and someone threw a piece of cake which she managed to dodge. She had had a lot of practice.

It wouldn't be long before somebody started throwing tables, but Lucy could enjoy the moment while it lasted. That was the way it was with her guild. No longer a name or a place or something far away and obscure. Fairy Tail was no longer something perfect and untouchable. Rather, it was riddled with flaws and mistakes and she loved every one of them. Guild was simply a synonym for family.

Another piece of cake went flying, and Lucy barely dodged. Natsu laughed like a maniac beneath her.

A family that she sometimes wanted to strangle, but a family nonetheless.


	5. Ultimate Team

Day 5: Ultimate Team

* * *

><p>It was the day after one of those nights when Erza crashed on the couch and Gray in the bathtub. Natsu had slept in her bed, of course, leaving her with nowhere, the floor, or squished up against him. She chose the last option. It barely stood to be mentioned. But it was the morning after one of those times that Lucy debated making her teammates pay rent when she was woken up by a scratching sound.<p>

This wasn't one of the usual noises that tended to come along with her teammate's unscheduled but regular intrusions. Those tended to be breathing and snores and the less than occasional shout. The scratching came again.

Cracking her eyes opened, Lucy saw a squirrel stop in the middle of her carpet. It hissed.

She understandably screamed.

Natsu was the first one to wake up, which he did with a start. He tumbled to the floor with a _thud._ A book fell off its shelf and Natsu rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with a clumsy hand.

"Wasamatterlucy?" he grumbled. Lucy took a few very calming breathes. It was as much the startle factor than they actual creature. Then it chattered and she screeched again.

"There's a squirrel," Lucy said, very slowly. She stood up, pressed herself against the wall on the corner of her bed. "There is a squirrel. On my _carpet._" The last word was accompanied with a shudder of pure terror and a little sob.

"So?" Natsu seemed unconcerned with her predicament. He stretched out his arms like he did every morning and began to walk towards the fridge. "Think he's hungry?"

"Who's hungry?" Erza had finally arisen, dragging a sword behind her. She had stuffed her feat into the slippers Lucy had gotten her for her past birthday. "I thought I heard someone scream."

Lucy could only point a pale, trembling finger towards the rodent in the middle of the room. Mice didn't bother her, rats barely gave her the chills. But a _squirrel._ The devil incarnates. Smart _and _evil. Erza looked towards where Lucy gestured. She'd expected the strongest woman in the guild to be able to take care of the problem in a moment. But Erza's face paled and she took a step back.

"Is that… a squirrel?" Erza shuddered visibly. Her voice rose in pitch and tone with every word. "I'll… I'll… I'll go get Gray!" It was practically a squeak at the end of her sentence and Lucy watched mutely as Erza dashed for the bathroom, knocking at the door desperately. You'd think there was a demon nipping at her heels.

Then the squirrel made an awful squawking sound. The knocking increased.

It took a few moments, and Lucy cringed for her new paintjob's sake, but Gray opened the door with a creak. Lucy could never understand how he slept in the bathtub without wrecking his back. Yet Gray did it regularly. With or without permission "What?" he asked, poking a head into the bedroom.

The squirrel moved with a chatter. Everybody shrieked.

"Do you think he eats cheese?" Natsu wondered out loud, reemerging from the kitchen with a platter of mixed snacks. The squirrel scampered away from Natsu and consequently towards Lucy, causing her voice to rise with hysteria. She wrapped her arms around herself with a whimper.

"Get it out of here!" She looked around desperately, her gaze landing on the cat sleeping on her blankets. She shook Happy awake with her foot. "Squirrels are rodents! Take care of it Happy!"

Happy opened his eyes slowly. When he saw the squirrel he froze.

"Lucy," he said very quietly, "there's a monster in your apartment."

Gray cracked his knuckles and warmed up his ice magic. "Don't worry. I'll get it." His face paled, even as Lucy shouted not to break anything. He took a deep breath. "Ice make cage!"

The frosty bars crashed to the floor loud enough for everyone to jump, but the little menace had moved again. Its nails scratched against the carpet as it moved, backing into a corner. This lead to another chorus of screams, screeches, and hysteria.

"It's going to eat me!"

"Get it!"

"Kill it, Natsu!"

"Do you think it's hungry?"

Lucy screamed in pure frustration. "Ultimate team my ass!"


	6. Stronger

Day 6: Stronger

* * *

><p>There wasn't a day in Fairy Tail that didn't start with the words "fight me." At least since she had joined, and, from what Lucy had heard, long before that. Despite this being common knowledge she hadn't expected to be the one in the center of the ring when she woke up. She wouldn't have worn her favorite shirt.<p>

Her opponent cracked his knuckles and Lucy found herself sighing. She was torn between wiping the grin of Lyon's face and saving her clothing. "Do I have to?" Lucy asked, turning around to where her team sat watching with varying levels of excitement. Natsu in particular looked like he had had too much caffeine, and was practically bouncing in place. He always liked to watch her beat people up.

Lyon gave a grin strangely similar to Gray's. "Scared?" he asked. Lucy scoffed, waving away his concerns. She had just gotten this shirt the other week and a fight was a good way to mess it up.

"Never lost a fight yet, Lucy!" Natsu cheered. Gray tried to look apologetic, despite him being the one who got her into this mess. He just _had_ to make a bet. If anything got torn he would be replacing it.

"There's a reason for that," Lucy muttered. She'd never _been_ in a bar fight either, a feet quite impressive considering where she spent all her time. Well, that wasn't strictly true. You couldn't live at Fairy Tail and not have been in a bar fight, though she was never the one to start them. Unless if you counted her arguments with Natsu…

Well, she wasn't really unprepared now that she thought about it. She gave a confident smile.

"You're going _down_, Lyon!" Natsu continued. She was touched by his conviction in her victory. "Lucy's stronger than _Erza_ when she's mad."

Lyon gave Lucy a doubting look, staring pointedly at her shoes, and Lucy felt her grin dropping. He thought she couldn't be cute _and_ kick ass? That was why he had chosen her, wasn't it? Out of the entire Team Natsu, he thought that she'd be _easy. _

There was a reason she was on the strongest team in the first place. There was a reason she had _survived_ being on the strongest team, a feat which required both brain power and a mean right hook. Most would have gone crazy within the first week.

There was a reason that she wasn't often dragged into bar fights. Lucy was cute but she was… Well, it was a good thing that she had a soft spot for Natsu or he would have been buried in an early grave long ago. Even Laxus steered clear when she was having a bad day.

"I'll go easy on you," Lyon promised. The guild went immediately silent. There was a collective gasp.

Lucy took a few steps forward, batted her eyelashes. She smiled. It was the smile of predator to prey, an executioner grinning at a corpse.

Somebody whimpered.

"You sure?" Lucy asked, taking a few steps closer. Lyon gave a confident smirk.

"It's no problem."

"Oh, thank you," Lucy cooed.

Before stomping on his foot with her high heel and punched him in the face in a deadly and flawless combination. She turned around, leaving the groaning pile of man on the floor without a further glance. Money exchanged hands.

"Do you think she broke his foot?" Levy asked Gajeel in a stage whisper.

"Definitely his nose." As if in response to Gajeel's observation, Lyon groaned. Gray tiptoed over to see if he would make it or if they needed to call in Porlyusica. He prodded Lyon with his foot, his shoes and shirt haven gotten lost a while ago. Lyon curled up into a tighter ball.

"Gray?" Gray stiffened, looking up to where Lucy stood, smiling sweetly over him.

"Umm." He swallowed. "Yes?"

"You owe me a drink." She strode off to the bar, presumably to order. Gray snapped a salute. Natsu burst into a round of applause. Erza smiled, proud that her friend was given the opportunity to show off her talents. There was indeed nobody stronger than Lucy when she was angry.

Lyon started to cry.


	7. Mashima

Day 7: Mashima

* * *

><p>She had known from the start that being an artist, wasn't going to be the walk in the park it looked like from the outside. Getting paid to <em>draw.<em> Imagine that.

Lucy was still having a hard time imagining it even though it was officially her job. She was also having a hard time paying the rent with the money she got from her comics. And buying food. Which was why she waitressed part time at the little café next door to the apartment. The customers were lovely and the owners allowed her to sell her freelance manga-style-graphic-novel at the cash register.

"Hi, I'm Lucy. I'll be serving you today," she rattled off with a grin. Just like she had done for the costumers before this one, a young man with pink hair. "Can I take your ord – Oh! Is that Rave Master?" He looked up when Lucy asked the latter question. He nodded, and Lucy's smile widened. "Hiro Mashima is amazing, isn't he? I'd give anything to meet him."

"Yah." He put down his comic, one of her personal favorite volumes. "Just a black coffee and two slices of cheesecake," he said. Lucy scribbled down his order, her smile dropping a fraction. People were so unfriendly these days. Nobody wanted to chat.

"Anything else?"

"Have you heard about the new series he's going to be releasing?" Lucy looked up in surprise. So he did want to talk. "Natsu," he said suddenly. "I know your name, so it's only fair."

"Nice to meet you," Lucy said. They shook hands.

"So have you?" he reiterated. "Heard of Fairy Tail?" Lucy nodded, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I'm so excited!" Mira, the owner of the café, shot her a look that told her to pipe it down. Lucy grinned apologetically. "Sorry," she mouthed.

"Me too," Natsu agreed. "I hear it's going to be about a wizard's guild And _dragons._" He looked absolutely thrilled at the idea. Lucy was too, and trying to keep it off her face. But it was OK to be excited, she decided, with somebody who was excited as you were.

"Have you read Monster Soul?" Lucy asked. She had to consciously stop herself from sitting down. Instead, Lucy clasped her hands behind her back, bouncing in place. "It's not as popular, but I really liked it."

"Me too!" He practically bounced in his seat, setting the old wood squeaking. He was a adorably excited as she was. "But Fairy Tail is going to be the best."

"You think?"

"Definitely. It's got dragons in it, after all."

Lucy snorted. He was wearing a dragon shirt and had a dragon painted on the base of his skateboard. His opinion on the mythical creature was obvious.

"He's a real inspiration for me," Lucy said. "Hiro Mashima. I have a graphic novel series I sell here."

Natsu's eyes lit up, his grin widening a full molar or two. "Really?" he asked. "Can I see?" He fumbled through his backpack, pulling out his wallet. He cracked it opened, apparently delighted with what he saw there. "Actually, can I buy one? Will you sign it?"

"Of course! Let me get your coffee and a copy and…" Lucy looked sheepishly at Mira, who was watching the whole exchange. She gave Lucy a thumb up. "Do you mind if I sit?" She immediately wished she could take back the sudden and impulsive comment but he only grinned.

"Why else would I order two slices of cheesecake?" Oh. _Oh._ And she thought she was impulsive. Lucy grinned.

"I'll be right back."

And right back she was, after passing his order and her apron to Cana. It wasn't every day you met somebody willing to talk. Especially in this small town.


End file.
